Macmillan Century signs 21 agreements at LBF

Macmillan Publishers and China-based 21st Century Publishing Group signed a further 21 rights agreements as part of the joint venture at last week's London Book Fair.

The two companies will work together on four Bear and Hare books by Emily Gravett, the picture books Smelly Louie by Catherine Rayner and Lion Practice by Emma Carlisle, six Ask Dr Fisher Kingfisher titles, eight Young Sherlock Holmes titles by Andrew Lane, and the teen novel Red Leaves by Sita Bramachari.

Anthony Forbes Watson, managing director of Pan Macmillan, and Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, publisher of Macmillan Children’s Books, met with Zhao Dongliang, chairman of the Board of Jiangxi Publishing Group, and Liu Kai Jun, the new president of 21st Century Publishing Group, during last week's London Book Fair for the signings.

Macmillan Publishers and 21st Century Publishing Group launched the Macmillan Century Consulting & Service Company in 2012, a joint venture in children's publishing in China, with the aim to acquire, develop, introduce and promote copyrighted children's titles sourced from Macmillan's publishing companies and imprints around the world.

Since the joint venture launched, Macmillan Children’s Books and 21st Century have worked together on 70 titles in the UK, comprising 33 picture books, 11 Rod Campbell titles, 11 Kingfisher books and 15 fiction titles. Overall the joint venture company has published over 300 Macmillan Publishers titles, including bestsellers Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell and The Hundred Decker Bus by Mike Smith.

Rasmussen said: “We are delighted to work with 21st Century, a Chinese market leader and a trusted partner. Together we will continue to bring quality books to market that cross boundaries and appeal to all children from British to Chinese.”

Dongliang said: “Cooperation with Macmillan is a very important step in our international strategy. Macmillan Century, the joint venture imprint, is now a very popular brand in the Chinese children’s book market. We hope our partnership will continue to build and develop.”